Building new communications systems

By the USFA/IAFF

When its comes to a new communications system, you may be collaborating with other departments to build a shared multiagency network, or you may go it alone on a network for the fire service only. Either way, the more you learn about your department’s needs the more effectively you can represent the perspective of the fire service in your community.

The planning horizon for a new communications system can range from a few months to several years. Once installed, the system could have a life of 10 years or more. The following are some things that must be considered.

Community needs — Anticipate population growth, density changes, geographic expansion, alliances with other communities, and evolving issues in homeland security and all-hazards management. Any investment you make today should have the potential to grow tomorrow.

Organizational changes — Consider potential staffing changes, departmental realignments, the creation of new work teams and task forces, greater collaboration with State and Federal agencies. Will you be hiring more firefighters, opening or closing stations, or fielding specialized teams such as hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), wildland firefighting, technical rescue, or others?

Be prepared with statistics that reinforce your department’s importance to the community: How many incidents you handle each year, how many citizens receive service each year,
and how many lives are saved. These can be hard to quantify, but some research should produce numbers you can use.

• Be familiar with your department’s planning initiatives and be prepared to talk about anticipated growth, potential incidents, and disaster scenarios to demonstrate the importance of fire service preparedness.
• Focus on results. It’s not a question of how many antenna towers you have, it’s whether firefighters can hear to coordinate tasks and strategies or hear emergency traffic or a Mayday call when they’re working inside a building. Emphasize how each decision affects the safety of your personnel and citizens.

Also, with the current focus on interoperability, don’t lose sight of the basic mission. It is still more important to be able to respond effectively and safely to the everyday incidents than it is to provide for every possible (and unlikely) disaster scenario. This is not to say that interoperability is not important, but don’t sacrifice a system you can use for a rarely used feature.